AWARENESS OF KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION OF EHEALTH: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF EHEALTH PORTALS AND MHEALTH APPLICATIONS IN STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVE

Purpose:The aim of the article is to identify students' views on the possibilities of using modern information technology tools in prevention and health protection at the University of Economics in Katowice, divided into distinguished fields of study.Design/methodology/approach: The main research tool was an electronically distributed survey questionnaire (Computer-Assisted Web Interview).The research was conducted in mid-2023.The obtained results were reduced to comparability by counting percentages in individual answers to questions.To analyze the differences between fields of study, urban and Euclidean distances were calculated.Additionally, hypothesis H1 was put forward about a statistically significant differentiation of the obtained answers.The measure was the right-sided F-Snedecor test.Findings: The presented results are part of the research on knowledge and awareness and the use of modern IT tools to improve the living conditions of society.Obtained results identify students' views on the use of portals and mobile applications (mHealth) in the field of eHealth, while the hypothesis about significant differentiation was verified only in 9% of cases. Research limitations/implications:The limitation of this study was that it was based only on a single university and young people from the academic environment.Nevertheless, the conclusions presented may help shape the policy of building and using portals and Internet applications in prevention and health protection by students -potential, future IT specialists, and companies involved in their construction and modification at present.Originality/value: The uniqueness of this study lies in its focus on the analysis of the views of a specific group of end users on the possibilities of using IT tools across the fields of study, at the distinguished university.